The proposal of the Central European Initiative to create a network of local policy advisors to support economic development in its member countries coincides with the objectives of the OECD LEED Programme to foster local governance, entrepreneurship and social cohesion in Central and Eastern Europe through capacity building for local development, a mission for which the OECD has just established a Centre for Local Development in Trento. The network of local advisors has been conceived as a tool to access local expertise in the target countries, foster co-operation among national and sub-national local development practitioners, identify capacity building needs and advise the activities of the Trento Centre and the CEI. The network will feed the work of the OECD, whose strength lies in the highly qualified economic analyses and the framing of criteria for development, while enhancing its impact in CEI countries. A network of local policy advisors in CEI countries therefore brings significant benefits to the implementation of activities by the Trento Centre.

Objectives of the LDN

The objectives pursued with the Local Development Network (LDN) will be as follows:

Identify and address capacity building needs and activities in support of entrepreneurship and SMEs, local economic development, local governance, job creation, and social cohesion in the target countries.

Assess current practices in the design, implementation and evaluation of policy instruments employed by national and sub-national authorities

Share the knowledge base of the OECD LEED Programme and contribute to best practice exchange amongst local development professionals in the target region

Apply this knowledge base for the direct assistance to local entrepreneurship

Management

The LDN will be hosted by the OECD Secretariat at its LEED Trento Centre for Local Development. The role of the Secretariat will be to act as a permanent contact point for the LDN, to organise the dialogue between LDN members, the CEI and the OECD, to assist in implementing and further developing the network, and to contribute to the LDN by organising seminars, trainings and the exchange of experience.

Membership

A number of 10-15 institutions or individual professionals per country will be invited to participate in the LDN. A well-balanced membership should include members from:

officers from the various tiers of government (central, regional, local) involved in local development;

NGOs and non-profit organisations;

education and research institutions; and

the CEI structures involved in entrepreneurship and local development, including the BAS (Business Advisory Services)

What does LDN membership offer?

In addition to the Annual Assembly Meeting, organised in conjunction with the yearly CEI Summit Economic Forum, members of the LDN will have access and contribute to the following activities organised by the OECD LEED Trento Centre:

One-day seminars on Entrepreneurship in South-Eastern European countries, organised by the OECD LEED Trento Centre in co-operation with the Stability Pact, the Investment Compact, the CEI/EBRD, and/or other relevant institutions